By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Several students at Thompson Sixth Grade Center and Thompson High School recently beat out hundreds of other teams while completing a task some seasoned business professionals struggle with.

Teams from the two schools placed highly in the Alabama Stock Market Game, which is sponsored by Sterne Agee and is presented by the Alabama Council on Economic Education.

Through the competition, students from schools in several divisions across the state were given $100,000 in “virtual money” and invested it in real-world stocks. During the 10-week game, the students purchased stocks and mutual funds and made trades with their virtual funds.

At the end of the competition, the teams were ranked based on the value of their portfolios.

“It was a very good activity for the kids,” said Thompson Sixth Grade Center teacher Jennifer Winslett, who advised the school’s teams. “Everything was real-time because they were investing in actual stocks.

“We give them a virtual $100,000, and then we step back and let them run with it,” Winslett said. “They really worked with it this year.”

One of the Sixth Grade Center’s teams topped 328 other teams in the game’s largest division in the state to bring home first place. The championship team consisted of Salma Lopez-Jimenez, Jonathon Holtzclaw, Christian Gladney and Carlos Goana-Torres.

The top team ended with a portfolio valued at $121,202. One of the team’s most successful investments was in the Alabama-based Hibbett Sports company, which netted the team a 14 percent growth over the 10-week span. For winning, the team split $150 and took home Stock Market Game backpacks.

The school also had two other top-10 teams. A team consisting of Logan Youngblood, Sam Callahan, Zach Barnett and Roy Dixon placed fifth in the division. A team consisting of Kevin Hutcheson, Kayleigh Blankenship and Hayden Frym placed 10th.

A team from Thompson High School, comprised of Chris Swafford, Colt Jones, Kiesha White, Anthony Tennyson and Jonathan Prince, placed fourth in the 237-team north region high school division.

“These kids are learning real world lessons about the interplay of diverse market forces and the importance of thoroughly researching a company before investing,” said ACEE Executive Director Steve Rapp.

“Alabaster parents and Shelby County Schools can be justly proud of these students who are learning lifetime research, writing and investment skills using a real world scenario,” Rapp added.